Brett Moffitt, driver of the No. 16 AISIN Group Toyota Tundra, made a strong bid for victory and finished third in his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Coming off his second career victory and the first for HRE a week prior at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Moffitt led a career-high 27 laps and made a valiant effort for a second consecutive triumph. The podium finish moved Moffitt to second in the drivers championship standings.
After posting the sixth-fastest lap in qualifying on Friday afternoon, Moffitt took the green flag from the outside of row three and immediately battled a loose condition in Stage 1. Moffitt ran as high as sixth during the opening stage but got shuffled back on a lap 21 restart after a truck in front of him suffered a flat tire. The Grimes, Iowa native fought back to collect three points in the eighth position at the stage’s conclusion on lap 30.
Crew chief Scott Zipadelli brought Moffitt to pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment under the first stage caution as many teams changed two tires. Moffitt restarted 12th on lap 37. An improved and snugger balance on the AISIN Group Tundra allowed Moffitt to utilize the bottom lane of the speedway to pick off positions and enter the top five by lap 53. He earned six more points at the end of Stage 2 on lap 60 by running fifth.
Moffitt received four more Goodyear tires, fuel, and air pressure adjustments under the stage caution before taking center stage when the race restarted on lap 68. Moffitt made a three-wide move for the lead to take the point on lap 69 and retook the lead again on lap 84. As the race’s latter stages wore on under the green flag, Moffitt led a total of 27 laps and solidified himself at the front of the field before hitting lapped traffic. On lap 109, slower lapped trucks took the preferred groove which caused Moffitt to contact the No. 20 and surrender the race lead. Moffitt came to pit road one lap later for his last scheduled four-tire pit stop of the evening and cycled to fifth place.
A caution on lap 120 set Moffitt up to restart fifth with 11 laps to go. For the second straight week, he made a bold three-wide move on a restart and vaulted himself to second and onto the leader’s back bumper. While racing for the lead with four laps remaining, another lapped truck ran Moffitt out of the groove in Turn 1, forcing Moffitt back to fourth. Moffitt tenaciously challenged for position and took the checkered flag in third, his second top-five finish of the season.
Brett Moffitt Quote:
“…When the No. 13 pulled out of the pits a couple laps down or whatever and side drafted us for the lead. That allowed (No. 51) Kyle (Busch) to close in and I tried to go to the bottom of a lapped car and he turned down the track into us. It’s just frustrating, because when you’re out of the race, you shouldn’t be out there affecting the leaders. It was (fun out there) racing with Kyle. We had a really strong AISIN Group Tundra. I can’t thank (team owner) Shige (Hattori), TRD, and all of out partners enough for getting us here. It’s just a bittersweet third place.”
HRE PR
- IROC Returns July 19-20 at Lime Rock Park - April 19, 2024
- RCR Race Preview: Talladega Superspeedway - April 19, 2024
- The perfect sweep: Julien Rehberg makes an incredible debut in the Rookie Trophy - April 19, 2024